What Should Have Been
by Daelena
Summary: Emma daydreams about what life could be like, if she, Henry, and Archie were a family.


If Only In Our Dreams

_Disclaimer__: I don't own a thing here._

_Summary__: Emma daydreams about what life could be like, if she, Henry, and Archie were a family. _

_A few people suggested that I bring Henry into these stories and I started mulling over the appropriate way to bring him into this (admittedly, very loose) series that I've been writing, featuring what's become my favorite (not official) couple of "Once Upon A Time." Ergo, this popped into my head._

_I hope you all enjoy it!_

Emma knew that she had not been mother material, not in the slightest, when she gave birth to Henry. She was barely (barely!) eighteen, aged out of the foster care system, in jail, no money to her name, and very little drive to find a stable environment for herself, much less a child. It really had been for the best that she give her infant son up for adoption. As much as she did love the child that she had carried inside of and gave birth to, Emma knew that he would only end up as screwed up as she was, had she kept him.

So she did the hardest thing any mother could do – she chose to break her own heart, just to give her child the best chance of success and a happy life.

For a while, she was able to isolate herself off from other human contact and travel from place to place, never staying long enough to lay down any sort of permanent roots. That worked for her, since she wanted to keep herself from getting attached to anyone because attachments meant that she would ultimately get hurt and Emma wanted to spare herself that pain. She knew how much it hurt and felt it every single day because she had given up her son.

And then Henry came stumbling back into her life, all wide-eyed and hopeful. Everything began to change then.

Time and time again, Emma had to remind herself that she had no legal right to Henry. She may be his biological mother, but Regina had all of the control when it came to the legal issues. While Regina had (somewhat, forcibly) admitted (after prodding from both Henry and Emma) that Emma's presence in Henry's life would only be beneficial, the Mayor didn't like Emma and the feeling was very much mutual.

Honesty, having a psychologist for a boyfriend was starting to rub off on Emma. She was starting to realize (with more and more clarity) the positive effects that her interactions would have on Henry.

Like any kid who was adopted or was in the foster care system, Henry was naturally inquisitive of his birth parents. He was also smart enough and resourceful enough to be able to track down Emma. His inquisitiveness kept Emma around (at least, in the beginning). And, truth be told, Emma was glad that she was around because that meant that she got the opportunity to get to know her son.

Which is why, as had become their routine over the last weeks, Emma went to meet him at Granny's Diner, once he was off from school and she had gotten a good chunk of her paperwork finished.

Well . . . maybe paperwork took a little longer than she had expected today, but Henry knew that she was busy as the recently-appointed sheriff of the town. He understood that she was busy trying to get her feet under her as the sheriff and, whenever she was a little late showing up for their afternoon meetings, he would simply start on his homework.

Her son was smart and that was somewhat odd for Emma.

However, when she came into the Diner today, Emma was caught by surprise by what she saw waiting for her.

A smile crossed her lips.

Henry's school books were spread over one of the tables in the corner and Henry was bent over what appeared to be math homework. At his side, Archie was looking over his shoulder, quietly guiding him through the math questions that he was having problems with, giving tips and hints to help him figure out what he was having trouble with.

For a moment, she paused to watch them. It was quite a sight, seeing Dr. Archie Hopper, resident psychologist of Storybrooke and, supposedly, Jiminy Cricket, helping a little boy with his math homework.

But Emma felt a surge of something that she was very unfamiliar with rise as she watched Archie pat Henry on the back, congratulating him on completing his last problem.

It felt like she was watching something that should have always been there. Archie acted like Henry's father, in everything but blood. He was kind and loving, stern when he needed to be, devoted to helping Henry become the best that he possibly could be, protective of the boy. Archie was everything that Emma wanted for Henry when she gave him up for adoption and it was a knife in the gut that _Regina_ got him instead.

Henry pushed a few books aside and opened what Emma could only assume was an English book. Her son frowned.

Emma quietly approached and heard Henry say, with a sigh, "I'm never going to understand Shakespeare."

"You will," Archie replied, reassuringly. "It just takes time. Maybe if we read it aloud, you might understand a little better."

That was what Emma took as her cue to enter the conversation.

"What'cha reading, boys?" she asked, candidly.

Two sets of eyes looked up at her.

"_A Midsummer Night's Dream_," Henry explained, his tone showing that he was less than excited about reading Shakespeare, despite the boy's obvious grasp of fairy tales. Emma had to smile at his tone. "Ms. Blanchard thinks that we're ready to dive into Shakespeare."

"Really?" Emma commented, as she slid into the chair on Henry's shoulder. She looked at the text in front of Henry. "I remember this play. It was one of the few things I read in school that I really liked."

"I'm not surprised," Archie answered, with a laugh. Emma arched an eyebrow at him. "Between idiot lovers, an impish trickster, the mechanicals, and general mistaken identities, how can you not like it?"

Emma rolled her eyes at her boyfriend. "I just thought it was funny that Nick Bottom got an ass's head."

"You would." Archie rolled his eyes drolly.

"Well that, and I liked Puck. He's a fun character." Emma sighed, thinking and shrugging her shoulders at that thought. "Of course, the whole falling in love because of a spell didn't always sit well with me."

Henry looked up at her quizzically.

"And yet you're here, in Storybrooke?" he asked.

She had to smile at that, knowing what he meant. If his whole fairy tale theory was right (and Emma was slowly seeing more and more clarity in that theory as time went on), then love spells might be more of a common factor in her life than Emma would care to admit. After all, weren't fairy tales full of love spells and love at first sight?

"I think what Emma means to say is that she doesn't find the whole idea of having someone else dictate who she falls in love with to be a good idea," Archie explained. From across the table, their eyes met. Emma knew what he was thinking and she gave him a little smile. "If I'm right, Emma would rather get to know someone before she falls in love."

Henry looked between the two of them, as if he knew something they didn't.

"Like with the two of you?" he asked, wide-eyed. "You're getting to know each other and you're falling in love, right?"

Emma gulped. They had been very careful to keep Henry out of their personal lives, though that could have ended poorly.

"Hnery . . ." Archie said, slowly, struggling to find the words.

"It's true, isn't it?" the boy continued, with wisdom and insight beyond his ten years. "You're in a relationship."  
>Again, their eyes met.<p>

"Yeah," Emma said, "we are."

A moment of silence passed over them before a bright smile crossed Henry's face, his eyes lightening up.

"I think that's great!" he said. His voice sounded so enthusiastic.

"You do?" both Archie and Emma asked.

Henry nodded. "Yeah. You two are great together. You balance one another out very well. I'm happy for the both of you."

It took Emma completely surprised that Henry was so casual about his acceptance of their relationship. In fact, it seemed as if he was giving his blessing to them for continuing the relationship that they were slowly, but steadily developing.

And, in its own way, it was gratifying that Henry approved of them.

Archie put his hand on top of hers, drawing her out of her thoughts. Emma smiled genuinely at her boyfriend of only a few months. He was smiling.

"Now," Archie said, his tone serious, "that we've gotten that settled, why don't we tackle _A Midsummer Night's Dream_, Henry? You really should have a good grasp on it before you go back to school."

The boy groaned, but Emma saw the smile.

Almost twenty minutes later, when Ruby brought them their usual late afternoon/early evening treats (hot chocolate with cinnamon for Emma and Henry and a large mug of jasmine tea for Archie), Henry seemed to get the general idea of Shakespeare's play. Emma had to laugh. Like her, her son seemed to enjoy Puck's playful character, though she saw the way that he rolled his eyes at the ridiculousness of the four lovers.

Oh yes, Henry _was_ her son.

And, later, when she and Archie were getting ready for bed, Emma wished that Henry, Archie, and herself were an actual family because, to be perfectly honest, the three of them felt right together.

_What do you think? Did you like it? I hope you did!_

_You know what to do. Please review. I love getting your feedback on these stories. They make me feel so much better about writing these stories._

_Hopefully, I'll get another story posted soon!_


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